After conducting the survey the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) revealed on Thursday that the water sample collected from a pond near the Bandhwari waste treatment plant was found to be highly contaminated. The water that has been tested contains chemicals above the permissible amount and is absolutely not suitable for drinking.

Though the plant remains defunct for the last three years, more than 800 tonnes of solid waste is being dumped in the area every day. Without any effective disposal of solid waste at the plant, environmental activists have been claiming for a long time that the contaminated water from it is destroying the ecological balance of the Aravallis.

On August 24, the pollution control board had collected water samples from three sites. However, only the sample from the pond near the plant was found to be polluted. According to the test report, the water was dark brown and emitted a foul smell.

“We collected samples from a tubewell at Teen Murti Hanuman Mandir near the toll plaza at Faridabad-Gurgaon road, from Sansad BS Adhana Petrol Pump located opposite the municipal solid waste landfill site and from a pond close to the plant,” said Bhupender Singh, district pollution officer, HSPCB to Hindustan Times.

According to the HSPCB officials, the current situation has not affected the region’s groundwater yet, however, if no measures are taken immediately, chemicals and heavy metals from the plant can soon destroy the region’s aquifers.The report reveals the presence of chlorides, copper and lead in the water, making it highly toxic.

Environmental activist Vivek Kamboj told Hindustan Times, “The situation is grim as heavy metal presence in the water clearly shows that it might affect groundwater of the region, which can lead to genetic disorders. We are rushing into a disaster.”

Meanwhile, the municipal corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) is pumping out contaminated water from the area and will be filing a ground reality report with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on September 28 as directed by the tribunal on August 24.

Kamboj also said that the MCG did not do this on its own and had to pump out contaminated water only because of the NGT’s direction.

Earlier, it was found that black contaminated water, or leachate, is leaking out of the plant and collecting at a large lake in the Aravalli forest area.

The information was revealed after a petition was filed before the NGT last year by environmental activists over damage to the Aravalli forests, particularly along the Gurgaon-Faridabad road near Bandhwari waste treatment plant.

Dumping of waste has also been noticed in the natural drain of Chakkarpur, which is being revived by the forest department.

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Know Why This Small Town In Tamil Nadu Is In The Guinness Book Of World Records

Did you know there is a town at the southern tip of India that can be called ‘Heaven on Earth’. Its people realise the importance of keeping the environment clean.

Madukkarai Panchayat in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, is the cleanest place in India, owing to around 50 women who wake up every day to collect waste from each and every household in the town. At 6 AM, the women set out to work with their green jackets on, hands covered in gloves and caps adjusted perfectly on their heads. Every morning they line up for the roll call. These ‘Green Friends’ are part of the solid waste management program supported by ACC Cement – Madukkarai.

Madukkarai, a small town at the tip of the country, is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest recycling lesson in the world. With the help of around 50 women, who are now called ‘Green Friends’, and a simple, scalable model, this town is leading the way for efficient waste management. #SwachhBharat

While most of us find someone to put the blame on, Madukkarai decided to take control in their own hands. The town has 8,000 households and a population of 42,000. 82% of the homes hand over garbage to ‘Green Friends’ every day. 1,440 tonnes of garbage is collected annually from the town of 18 wards and 107 streets.

There is a lot that we can learn from Madukkarai. One of the most disturbing realities that we face, despite which part of the country we reside in, is the similar dirt everywhere – garbage piled up on roadside, drains clogged with plastic bags and dogs chewing on the leftover food we have callously thrown on the streets.

We keep our homes clean; make sure that the floors are mopped every day. But why do we not share the same sentiment for our surroundings? We hardly realize that the street outside our home is as much ours as is anybody else’s. We are the ones who use these roads every day to commute. Madukkarai realized this and the importance of a clean environment for our health and well-being.

Guinness Book of World Records for the largest recycling lesson in the world

‘Green Friends’ collect household wastes in eight different bins for wet waste, kitchen waste, plastic waste, etc. This is then disposed in large bins kept in several parts of the town. Trucks pick up this waste daily and take it to the resource recovery park where the garbage is recycled.

The treatment center segregates the different types of wastes. The kitchen waste is converted into fertilizers and given to farmers at extremely low prices to use in cultivation of their crops. The plastic waste is processed to be used in the construction of roads, and also at the large ACC factory where it is used as fuel at high temperatures which does not even cause pollution.

Due to the efforts of ‘Green Friends’, the citizens of Madukkarai, and the municipality, there has been a 60% reduction in landfill waste over the span of three years. There has also been a 50% reduction in the vehicle movement to the landfill sites, 85% of organic waste is converted successfully into vermin compost, ample reduction in the use of fossil fuels, reduction in greenhouse gas emission to 60%, and substantial decrease in the spread of malaria and dengue among the people. Furthermore, barren lands provided for compost yard have been successfully converted into fully functional organic compost yard and non-recyclable waste is used as an alternative energy source for the cement industry.

Madukkarai’s citizens have also become more environment-friendly, with 30% of the households segregating the organic-recyclable waste at home.

What we can learn

Madukkarai has paved the way to the sustainable development of our world. They have shown us that is not impossible to keep our environment clean. All we need is to inculcate in us a concern for mother Earth. It is commendable that ACC is supporting Madukkarai in its venture and helping it stay clean.

We, as citizens of other towns, cities, villages and states in India, have a lot to learn from Madukkarai. We too can have a healthier life if only we care enough and practice our civil duties proudly.